This invention relates generally to computer interfaces. More specifically, the present invention discloses a variety of printable interfaces wherein an encoded Linkmark(trademark) provides machine readable information and a Multicon(trademark) Linkmark provides both machine and human readable information. The human readable information indicates to the user the nature of the machine readable information, and the machine information enables a user to interface with and control a computer system. The present invention also teaches multi-colored two-dimensional bar codes that provide machine readable information through both the digital information in the bar code glyph and the average color of the bar code glyph.
People are constantly interacting with computerized systems, from the trivial (e.g., the computerized toaster or the remote control television) to the exceedingly complex (e.g., telecommunications systems and the Internet). An advantage of computerization is that such systems provide flexibility and power to their users. However, the price that must be paid for this power and flexibility is, typically, an increase in the difficulty of the human/machine interface.
A fundamental reason for this problem is that computers operate on principles based on the abstract concepts of mathematics and logic, while humans tend to think in a more spatial manner. Often people are more comfortable with physical, three-dimensional objects than they are with the abstractions of the computer world. In short, the power and flexibility provided by the computer and related electronic technology are inherently limited by the ability of the human user to control these devices. Since people do not think like computers, metaphors are adopted to permit people to effectively communicate with computers. In general, better metaphors permit more efficient and medium independent communications between people and computers. The better metaphor will provide the user a natural and intuitive interface with the computer without sacrificing the computer""s potential.
There are, of course, a number of computer interfaces which allow users, with varying degrees of comfort and ease, to interact with computers. For example, keyboards, computer mice, joysticks, etc. allow users to physically manipulate a three-dimensional object to create an input into a computer system. However, these computer interfaces are quite artificial in nature, and tend to require a substantial investment in training to be used efficiently.
Progress has been made in improving the computer interface with the graphical user interface (GUI). With a GUI, icons that represent physical objects are displayed on a computer screen. For example, a document file may look like a page of a document, a directory file might look like a file folder, and an icon of a trash can may be used for disposing of documents and files. In other words, GUIs use xe2x80x9cmetaphorsxe2x80x9d where a graphical icon represents a physical object familiar to users. This makes GUIs easier for most people to use. GUIs were pioneered at such places as Xerox PARC of Palo Alto, Calif. and Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The GUI is also often commonly used with UNIX(trademark) based systems, and is rapidly becoming a standard in the PC/MS-DOS world with the Windows(trademark) operating system provided by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.
While GUIs are a major advance in computer interfaces, they nonetheless present a user with a learning curve due to their still limited metaphor. In other words, an icon can only represent a physical object; it is not itself a physical object. It would be ideal if the computer interface was embodied in a physical medium which could convey a familiar meaning, one perhaps relevant to the task at hand. While progress has been made towards achieving such a goal, many roadblocks yet remain. For example, assuming that for a given application one has selected a physical medium for use as a computer interface, the information necessary to support the computer interface must still be encoded within the physical medium. Additionally, techniques must be developed for linking such interfaces with the vast wealth of information available from remote sources using computer networks like the Internet.
Redford et al.""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,265, entitled xe2x80x9cPRINTED PUBLICATION REMOTE CONTROL FOR ACCESSING INTERACTIVE MEDIA,xe2x80x9d filed Jul. 1, 1994, describes one rudimentary mechanism for encoding information within a physical medium. Redford describes the use of a printed publication such as a book being constructed to include a storage media, a data button, and remote control circuitry. The button is physically attached to the printed publication and when activated by a user, data from the storage media can initiate local feedback at the printed publication and the remote control can transmit a control message to a remote computer system which in turn performs some desired operation.
While strides have been made in attempting to improve computer interfaces, there is still progress to be made in this field. Ultimately, the interface itself should disappear from the conscious thought of users so that they can intuitively accomplish their goals without concern to the mechanics of the interface or the underlying operation of the computerized system.
The present invention improves the human/computer interface by providing printable interfaces that enable a user to invoke and control computer processes. A first embodiment of the present invention teaches an encoded physical medium suitable for use in interfacing a computer user and a computer system such that the user can control a plurality of computer implemented processes. The encoded physical medium has a Linkmark and an instruction mark. Encoded within the Linkmark is machine readable linking information directing to a computer implemented process. Encoded within the instruction mark is a machine readable operating instruction that, when decoded, may be executed by the computer implemented process.
The computer implemented process may be a web site, a web page, a computer application, etc. Hence, when the computer implemented process is a web page or web site, the machine readable linking information provides, either directly or indirectly by way of reference to a central server database, a uniform resource locator (URL) pointing to the web page or web site. In this case, the machine readable operating instruction could be a navigation command or other suitable instruction for controlling the invoked web site.
Certain embodiments of the present invention teach that certain marks (termed Multicon Linkmarks) also present human readable information related to the nature of the machine readable information stored therein. For example, the Multicon Linkmark may have graphical illustrations indicating content found at the web page, media format of the content, user designation, payment and membership requirements, communication speed, duration of content, etc.
In another embodiment, the format of the machine readable information is a two-dimensional bar code comprising a plurality of colored glyphs, the plurality of colored glyphs arranged such that digital information is encoded within the two-dimensional bar code, the color intensities of the colored glyphs being such that further information is encoded as an average color intensity of the combination of the plurality of colored glyphs.
Still another embodiment of the present invention teaches a computer system suitable for controlling a computer implemented process. The computer system has a digital processor, memory coupled to the digital processor storing operating instructions suitable for controlling the operation of the digital processor, an encoded physical medium similar to that described above, and a sensor coupled to the digital processor and operable for measuring information present within each mark located on the encoded physical medium. Thus when a user engages the sensor with one of the encoded marks located on the physical medium, the computer system responds by performing the appropriate action such as invoking the indicated computer process or executing the instruction within the computer process.
The present invention therefore provides a more intuitive and richer metaphor for the interaction between humans and computerized systems. These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed descriptions and studying the various figures of the drawings.